Press Release Wednesday 4 February 2015

New submissions demonstrate Heathrow Hub is simple, quick, cheaper and reduces noise

Heathrow Hub is the independent proposal shortlisted by the to extend the existing Northern Runway. We have made some additional submissions to the Airports Commission as part of its public consultation. Together, they make a compelling argument for our concept.

Jock Lowe Heathrow Hub director, said:

“Our concept best meets the Airports Commission’s requirement to enhance the UK’s hub airport capacity. We tackle the issue of noise head on by drawing on measures employed internationally and by also proposing an end to night quota flights arriving before 6am. Our scheme is the simplest to implement and finance; it delivers the greatest economic benefits to Britain; and by connecting the airport to the national rail network we would make it easier to get to for people across the entire UK.No other infrastructure project can do so much for the entire country. The question now has to be, why not do it?”

Reducing the number of people on the noise footprint by 300,000

Our recent submission on noise has been revised and then modelled by the Civil Aviation Authority’s noise team. New indicative flight paths, similar to those used by Ltd in their proposal have been modelled. The result is a dramatic reduction in the population impacted by aircraft noise.

For example, according to the CAA modelling and using the Commission’s assumptions, the 2040 population inside the 55db Lden footprint falls by more than 300,000 when compared to today (even assuming population growth) and is approximately 15% lower than the equivalent HAL figure.

Additionally, our public consultations have confirmed that the removal of night quota flight arrivals before 6am would be highly valued by areas under the approach paths. This remains an option with our scheme, as do other innovative noise reduction measures such as steeper, curved and two-stage approaches.

Gatwick charges and financing

The financial risks associated with the expansion of Gatwick are significantly greater than at Heathrow as highlighted by Moody’s in their recent report. The Commission believes expansion at Gatwick would necessitate a doubling in aero charges levied on airlines - a highly undesirable option for its low cost passengers and airlines. We asked Oxford Economics to examine the impact of such a dramatic increase in

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aero charges at Gatwick which relies heavily on low-cost tourist traffic. Using the 2030 forecasting results based in the Commission’s Low Cost scenario, Oxford Economics estimates Gatwick could lose between 3.3- 9.9 million passengers per annum due to higher aeronautical charges.

Big doubts therefore exist as to how Gatwick and its owners Global Infrastructure Partners would finance expansion. Even if they could, the result could be a large amount of unused spare capacity, while Heathrow would continue to be full.

There is therefore a very serious risk that expansion at Gatwick would achieve the exact opposite of the Airports Commission’s objective, of maintaining the UK’s status as an international hub for aviation.

Surface access

Our proposal would not require closing the M25.

The Commission has apparently not fully considered the surface access issues for Gatwick. Additional airport traffic would surely have a major impact on the M23, sections of the M25 and the to Gatwick rail line. As far as we are concerned, Gatwick is obviously in the wrong place for most of the UK and this needs to be adequately costed.

Our railway interchange provides the largest catchment of all the options, as it has direct fast rail services from Wales, the West, South West & the South Midlands. It also dramatically improves road access by providing a new access to the airport from the M25 avoiding the most congested section between junction 13 & 15. Introducing the Heathrow Hub railway interchange would maximise the passenger shift on to public transport, meaningfully reducing air pollution and road traffic congestion.

Contacts Maitland 020 7379 5151

Notes to editors Heathrow Hub is an independent, proposal for an integrated air and rail facility that doubles Heathrow's capacity and creates new opportunities for noise mitigation. For more information, please visit: www.heathrowhub.com